


Crack the Shutters

by itslauram



Category: Outlander (TV), Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:28:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27334216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itslauram/pseuds/itslauram
Summary: Happy Sunday, lovelies!  I just want to thank every single one of you who have taken the time to read, kudo, comment. It truly makes my day, as I am totally new to this. So, thank you very very much. ❤️We’re doing a bit of a time jump with our Jamie and Claire. Just to reiterate, every one of these ficlets revolves around the same universe as my original one shot “A New Day.” It’s always them, just different stages of their relationship. This isn’t beta’ed, so the overabundance of commas is mine. 😂🎧 Crack the Shutters- Snow Patrol
Relationships: Claire Beauchamp/Jamie Fraser
Comments: 41
Kudos: 152





	Crack the Shutters

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Sunday, lovelies! I just want to thank every single one of you who have taken the time to read, kudo, comment. It truly makes my day, as I am totally new to this. So, thank you very very much. ❤️
> 
> We’re doing a bit of a time jump with our Jamie and Claire. Just to reiterate, every one of these ficlets revolves around the same universe as my original one shot “A New Day.” It’s always them, just different stages of their relationship. This isn’t beta’ed, so the overabundance of commas is mine. 😂
> 
> 🎧 Crack the Shutters- Snow Patrol

A cold nose and a face full of fluff woke me as Jamie’s dog, Max, snuffed my cheek, impatient for his morning walk. Jamie was still sound asleep, dead to the world. A series of sleepless nights spent working until early hours of the morning had left him in a zombie-like state, his body now demanding sleep. 

Careful not to wake him, I wormed my way out of the blanket burrito I was wrapped up in. Slipping on a pair of leggings and a long sleeved tee, I rinsed my face, brushed my teeth, and pulled my hair up into a bun. A quickly scrawled note was left for Jamie next to his phone on the nightstand. His lock screen, a picture of myself sporting duck lips and Max completely uninterested in participating in the photo, stared back at me. 

As I shuffled out of his bedroom, that I might as well start labeling as “ours”, (a vast majority of my nights were spent at Jamie’s, my own flat practically abandoned) Max was one step ahead of me, already pawing excitedly at the front door. 

“Alright boy, hold on. I suppose coffee first is out of the question, yes?” 

A deep woof echoed throughout the entryway, followed by a tap dance on the hardwood floor. 

“Ok ok, shhh! Don’t wake your dad. Let’s go, buddy.” 

Grabbing his leash and hooking it onto his collar, we set out into the crisp, autumn morning. 

~~~~~~~~~

Peeking my head back into the bedroom, my ears picked up a yawn from under the pile of blankets surrounding the Jamie shaped lump in the center of the bed. Placing the cup of coffee, along with the bag of croissants, onto the bedside table, I slid back into bed. 

Jamie rolled over, took one groggy look at me, and closed his eyes again, his lips curling into a smile. 

“Sassenach.” His voice was deep and scratchy from disuse. 

“Good morning”, I said, threading my fingers through his thick hair and leaning down to kiss him lightly. I could taste the peppermint residue on his mouth and knew he’d gotten up to brush while I was gone. 

Cheeky man. 

The content, dopey look on his face reminded me a little too much of Max when I scratched behind his ears and I snorted in quiet amusement. If I didn’t work fast, he’d be asleep on me again in no time. Glancing towards the bathroom, I devised a plan. 

Returning to the bed, sans leggings and shirt, my hair loose about my shoulders (the way he preferred it) I hooked one leg over his hips and settled on top of him, fusing my body to his, my face drawn to my favorite spot in the space between his shoulder and neck. His skin was like a magnet for my lips and my mouth parted slightly, enough for my tongue to reach out and touch the warm skin there. Jamie moaned, and I sucked lightly on the same patch of skin where my tongue had been. 

Rewarded with yet another moan, I sucked harder.

“What are ye tryin’ to do, Sassenach?” he said, while his hands went to work skimming up and down the backs of my thighs. 

I grinned and moved to another spot on his neck, doubling my efforts when I felt him against the crease of my thigh. He was awake _now._

My experience with previous boyfriends had consisted of a give and take, quid pro quo routine that wasn’t necessarily unsatisfying, but performed merely _out of necessity._ With Jamie, I genuinely enjoyed watching him come undone because of me. 

His hands slid up to rest against the sides of my breasts, still pressed against his chest. His thumbs stroked side to side, my nipples barely out of reach and I squirmed, attempting to sit up. 

He understood what I was after and in one single move, Jamie’s palms were on the mattress pushing us upright.

“Oh, that was smooth”, I said, laughing. 

Simultaneously grabbing each other’s faces, we kissed as if we had all the time in the world, wandering tongues mapping each other’s mouths in a familiar route. Eager to be closer to him, I attempted to lose my bra in what I intended to be a single, sexy move. 

The universe mocked me.

Jamie burst into laughter when a series of frustrated grunts left my mouth as I tried to reach behind me for the hooks without breaking our kiss. He gently pulled my hands down to my sides and loosened it himself. 

Successfully slipping my arms out of the straps, I tossed the damn thing behind me and took hold of both of Jamie’s hands, placing them on my breasts. Closing my eyes, I sighed, arching into his touch and tossing my head back in reflex when he began to gently knead them. 

So good. _Too_ good. 

The space around me became a blur, as it always did when it was just the two of us, and I had no idea how long we’d spent just kissing and gently undulating our hips, but it was no longer enough. I reached for his waistband, lifting off his lap to give him space to rid himself of his sweatpants. I took this opportunity to slide my knickers down my legs, tossing them to join my bra. 

Settling back atop his thighs, I ran a hand down his length as a reverent whisper of my name fell from his lips. Placing my hands on his shoulders, I sank down onto him, my breath leaving me in slow exhale. Never losing eye contact with him, my hands fell from his shoulders grazing the sides of his arms. I sat motionless, adjusting to the feel of him inside me. Jamie mirrored my gaze, blue eyes completely transfixed on my face. 

“You’re gorgeous like this”, he said, reaching to push my wild hair behind my shoulders and resting his hands on my clavicles. 

His eyes grew dark and hazy, pupils dilating, when my hips began to move, needing to feel that friction my body was craving. Maintaining eye contact was becoming difficult and my eyelids fluttered shut, low moans escaping both of us. Jamie slid his arms around my waist, hands palming the curves of my ass. I desperately needed all of him against me and gave a slight tug at his shirt. He took the hint and reached down to divest himself of the last remaining barrier between us, a hand returning to my ass and the other back to my breast. 

Bliss. 

Goosebumps erupted on my arms and my chest, from the cold air or just his touch alone, I couldn’t say. Of course he noticed, not a single minute detail about me ever went unnoticed by him, and he reached for a blanket, wrapping it around us in a cocoon. 

I would never be convinced that life could get much better than this, when there was nothing between us besides skin and shared breaths, with this person I ached for with everything in me. It was overwhelming in every sense of the word, but I no longer feared it. I would comfortably drown in it. 

He was happy to let me continue to take the lead and my hands fisted his hair near the back of his neck in a loose grip, as we continued this slow and steady grind on each other. 

Jamie was always quiet when we made love, but he _was_ a deliciously heavy breather. This was something that turned me on immensely the first time we slept together and I still found it unbearably sexy. When I felt his breath in my ear begin to turn fast and shallow, I knew he was close. Tumbling back against the pillows, gripping my hips, his hands sliding on my sweaty skin, he thrust up into me, hard, and I rode him, giving back every bit as good as I got. His thumb found its way to the apex of my thighs, exactly where I needed that extra touch. 

Oh, god. 

No sooner than I felt my impending release building low in my pelvis, I was coming. Wave after wave crept up on me, skin flushing from head to toe, and beads of sweat dripping between my breasts down to my belly. 

Just as I felt myself begin to descend back down from the high of my orgasm, Jamie inhaled sharply, his head tipped back, mouth slightly opened, and forehead tensed, exquisite agony on his face. God, he was beautiful. That image of him alone was almost all it took to arouse me enough to come again.

I collapsed onto him once he relaxed beneath my body, my face returning to its starting place, in the crook of his neck. While my heart rate, and his, began to settle to their normal state, I felt a hand in my hair gripping bunches of my curls. He always did this when we’d lay together, whether it was post-sex or just watching television on his sofa. His hands were constantly in my hair and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t do _things_ to my heart every single time. 

Jamie rolled to his side slightly, taking me with him, and I turned away to play his little spoon, completely enfolded in him. We lay together, sticky and boneless, no desire to move for the foreseeable future. 

Sliding a leg between mine and propping himself up on the palm of his hand, he leaned over repeatedly pressing kisses to my flushed cheek.

“Good morning to ye, too”, he whispered. 

“Mmmm.” 

Languidly arching my back against him and stretching my limbs, every muscle in my body completely sated, I buried my face in the pillow for a moment, a content Cheshire grin on my lips. Rolling over and looking up at him through hooded eyes, I took his free hand and brought it to my lips, placing two of his fingers in my mouth, gently biting down. 

He groaned and I felt a shudder make its way down his spine. 

“Jesus, Claire”.

The way he was looking at me, like he wanted to flip me over on all fours and at the same time put a ring on my finger _immediately._

Kissing his fingers, I snuggled back into his chest. 

Here, in this bed, with this man, was the absolute apotheosis of what made me happiest. 

I really loved him. 

Suddenly overwhelmed with an almost violent need to tell him, I pushed myself up to eye level with him, lazily trailing a finger down his jaw.

“I love you more than anything. You know that, don’t you?” 

A flash of worry crossed his face momentarily and his fingers found my cheek, stroking gently. 

“Is everything alright, a nighean?” he asked, a mixture of concern and curiosity lacing his tone.

Shit. I was going to cry. Claire Beauchamp was apparently now a woman who cried from simply loving someone too much. Now I was worrying him, which in turn made me want to cry that much more. 

Noticing my stupid watery eyes, he cradled me to him tightly, mumbling soft Gaelic in my ear, stroking down my back and up again, repeating the circuit as long as I needed.

“It’s fine. I just—“

“I do know, mo chridhe. I know. I love ye, too.” 

Blinking repeatedly to chase the tears away, I squeezed him as hard as I was capable of and placed a lingering kiss behind his ear. 

“Your coffee’s cold,” I whispered. 

He laughed and pulled away from our embrace, kissing my lips one, two, three times. 

Glancing down, I noticed Max resting his head at the foot of the bed near our feet, whining pitifully, his toy Yoda next to him. 

“We have company”, I said, laughing. “Someone wants attention and will no longer be denied.”

“Aye, well. ‘Tis just gettin’ us ready for the real thing.”

Immediately he blanched, as it dawned on him what he’d just said. 

My gut was busy doing somersaults and my brain had momentarily forgotten to remind me how to breathe. We’d only been doing this for a year. Twelve months since he’d replaced everything I thought I knew of love. 

And to my surprise, a calm settled over me like a blanket because, of course. We would. It was inevitable. It was us. 

He risked a nervous glance at me- oh, I adore you- and my heart exploded into fragments composed of him and myself, our life together, our future, a future I had not met yet but loved already. 

Resting my forehead against his, I just nodded. 

_I love you._

_Of course._

  
  
_Crack the shutters open wide  
_ _I wanna bathe you in the light of day  
_ _And just watch you as the rays  
_ _Tangle up around your face and body  
_ _I could sit for hours  
_ _Finding new ways to be awed each minute_  
 _'Cause the daylight seems to want you  
_ _Just as much as I want you._


End file.
